As an entrepreneur, you’re probably well aware that email marketing can help your startup succeed. However, what’s not always as clear is what a startup needs to do to make this channel work for them. Since we’re in a unique position that allows us to consult with a wide range of startups on this exact subject, we want to use this post to cover some of the things startups absolutely need to do with email marketing, as well as a few common mistakes to avoid:

Start with a Main Focus

Once a startup gets in the swing of email marketing, it becomes easier to come up with the right ideas for emails to send. What stops a lot of startups is trying to figure out what they should craft their first couple of emails around. The solution we recommend is to pick a problem that’s highly relevant to your startup and then explore it over the course of a few emails. That will give you plenty of content to kick off your email marketing efforts.

Put Extra Effort Into Subject Lines

After you’ve spent a good amount of time writing an email, it may be tempting to go with the first subject line that comes to mind so you can get the email sent out. However, subject lines can have a huge impact on an email’s performance. By taking a little extra time to iterate on your subject line, you can get more people to open and interact with your email. In terms of optimal length, try to keep it under 50 characters. This gives you enough space to be compelling while also still standing out on the smaller screens of mobile devices.

Do Use a Call-to-Action

Some startups are worried about “annoying” the people on their email list. Other startups begin email marketing and wonder why it’s not really having an impact on their key metrics. In both scenarios, the answer we give is to use a strong call-to-action in an email. Taking this approach gives a purpose to the emails you send. Also, don’t be afraid to test different call-to-action variations to see which one works best.

3 Mistakes to Avoid

Now that we’ve covered what you should do, we want to go over a few things to avoid. First, provide value before making your pitch. Simply hammering your list with promotions isn’t a smart long-term strategy. Second, avoiding using all caps. Not only is this annoying to recipients, but it has the potential to trip spam filters. Finally, don’t go overboard with your designs. While it’s fine to make your emails look nice, what’s most important is they load quickly and are easy to read on devices of all sizes.

If you’re ready to make email marketing a priority for your startup, Global IntelliSystems can help. Sign up today for a free six-month trial of our email marketing platform!